Name: Sausage and Bell Pepper Pizza with Basil and Mozzarella
Total time: 3 h 15 min
Cuisine: ItalianEurope
Ingredients: 1 3/4 cups water; 2 1/4 teaspoons dry active yeast (1 envelope); 2 tablespoons olive oil , plus extra for brushing dough; 4 cups bread flour; 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt; vegetable oil (or cooking spray) for oiling bowl; semolina for dusting peel; 2 large cloves garlic , minced; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes or tomatoes packed in puree , chopped coarse; 1/4 pound bulk pork sausage , broken into bite size pieces; 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil; 1 red bell pepper , or yellow bell pepper, halved, cored, seeded, and cut into thin strips; Salt and ground black pepper; 1/4 cup shredded fresh basil leaf; 4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese (1 cup)

Sausage and Bell Pepper Pizza with Basil and Mozzarella

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on September 13, 2011

Time

1¼ hours, plus 2 hours rising

Yield

Serves 4 to 6 as a main course

Ingredients

Pizza Dough

1 ¾ cups water 2 ¼ teaspoons dry active yeast (1 envelope)2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for brushing dough4 cups bread flour 1 ½ teaspoons table salt vegetable oil (or cooking spray) for oiling bowlsemolina for dusting peel

Sauce

2 large cloves garlic, minced2 tablespoons olive oil 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes or tomatoes packed in puree, chopped coarse

Toppings

¼ pound bulk pork sausage, broken into bite size pieces1 ½ teaspoons olive oil 1 red bell pepper, or yellow bell pepper, halved, cored, seeded, and cut into thin stripsSalt and ground black pepper ¼ cup shredded fresh basil leaf 4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese (1 cup)

Before You Begin

If bulk sausage is not available, just buy cased sausage, remove the casing, and break meat into bite-size chunks. This dough can be used for any size pizza with thick or thin crust; simply adjust the cooking time to fit the pizza. Make sure you heat the oven to 500 degrees for thirty minutes before you start cooking. Your tiles or stone need at least that long to heat up; if they’re not properly heated, your pizza crust will be thin, blond, and limp. Once the dough for the crust has been topped, use a quick jerking action to slide it off the peel and onto the hot tiles or stone; make sure that the pizza lands far enough back so that its front edge does not hang off. For a cornmeal-flavored dough, substitute three-quarters cup of cornmeal for three-quarters cup of the bread flour. Editor's Note: This recipe was updated in 1997, when we found that adding more water resulted in a tastier pizza.

Instructions

for pizza

Measure 1/4 cup of warm water into 2-cup measuring cup. Sprinkle in yeast; let stand until yeast dissolves and swells, about 5 minutes. Add remaining 1/4 cup warm water plus 1 1/4 cup tap water and olive oil. Meanwhile, pulse flour and salt in workbowl of large food processor fitted with steel blade to combine. Add liquid ingredients (holding back a tablespoon or so) to flour and pulse together. If dough does not readily form into ball, stop machine, add remaining liquid, and continue to pulse until ball forms. Process until dough is smooth and satiny, about 30 seconds longer.

Turn dough onto lightly floured work surface; knead by hand with a few strokes to form smooth, round ball. Put dough into medium-large, oiled bowl, and cover with damp cloth. Let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

for sauce

Heat garlic with oil in saucepan over medium heat. When garlic starts to sizzle, add tomatoes. Simmer, uncovered, until sauce is thick enough to mound on spoon, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

for pizza

Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface and use chef’s knife or dough scraper to halve, quarter, or cut dough into eighths, depending on number and size of pizzas desired. Form each piece into ball and cover with damp cloth. Working with one piece of dough at a time, shape by flattening the dough into a disk using the palm of your hand. Start at the center and working outward, use your fingertips to press the disk to about 1/4-inch thick. Use one hand to hold the dough in place, use your other hand to stretch the dough outward. For a medium-thick pizza crust, repeat the stretching by turning the dough a quarterturn after each pull, until the correct diameter. For a thinner pizza, let the dough relax for 5 minutes, then continue stretching it until it has reached the correct diameter. Carefully lift the dough and transfer to pizza peel that has been lightly coated with semolina, brush dough very lightly with olive oil before topping and cooking.

Put sausage and 1/4 cup water in medium-large skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until water evaporates and sausage cooks through and browns, about 7 minutes. Remove sausage with slotted spoon. Add enough oil so that amount in skillet equals about 1 tablespoon. Add peppers and sauté until softened slightly, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove and set aside.

Top pizza dough with a portion of sauce. Scatter a portion of basil, sausage pieces, and peppers over sauce. Immediately slide dough onto heated quarry tiles or pizza stone. Follow cooking time on guide (see below), adding a portion of cheese at appropriate time.

Use the following guide to determine cooking time for pizza crust with topping but without cheese. All pizzas need to be cooked an additional two or three minutes after adding cheese, or until cheese is completely melted. THIN CRUST14-inch pizzas (Master Recipe makes 2) - 7 to 8 minutes 12-inch pizzas (Master Recipe makes 4) - 5 minutes 8-inch pizzas (Master Recipe makes 8)- 3 minutes. MEDIUM-THICK CRUST12-inch pizzas (Master Recipe makes 2) - 9 to 10 minutes 8-inch pizzas (Master Recipe makes 4) - 5 minutes 6-inch pizzas (Master Recipe makes 8) - 4 minutes.